Is Clarinex safe during pregnancy? Clarinex, generic name is desloratadine does not have safety data to use during pregnancy. Loratadine (Claritin) has been previously studied and found no risk of adverse fetal outcomes during pregnancy and is considered safe. Desloratadine is the main active metabolite of Loratadine.
In a previous post we described the difference between Zyrtec (cetirizine) and Xyzal (levocetirizine), the same applies to Claritin (loratadine) and Clarinex (desloratadine).
Xyzal OTC to be available March 2017
The risk summary of the use of Clarinex in pregnancy in the product label states that the limited data in pregnant women are not sufficient to inform a drug-associated risk for major births and miscarriage. In addition, current guidelines recommend the use of Claritin or Zyrtec in pregnancy when treatment with a 2nd generation antihistamine is needed.
The results published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice titled “Desloratadine Use During Pregnancy and Risk of Adverse Fetal Outcomes: A Nationwide Cohort Study” studied over a million pregnancies and compared their outcomes of major birth defects, spontaneous abortions, preterm births, small size for gestational age and still birth between the two groups.
The results showed that the use of desloratadine (Clarinex) in pregnancy was not associated with a significant increased risk of the above categories mentioned earlier. Desloratadine during pregnancy had similar fetal outcomes compared to Loratadine (Claritin).
These results provide reassurance and may inform clinicians, patients and medical regulatory agencies regarding the fetal safety of Clarinex (desloratadine) during pregnancy. Desloratadine is frequently used for the treatment of allergic disorders such as allergic rhinitis and urticaria. Allergic disorders are estimated to affect 20% to 30% of women who are childbearing age. Antihistamines are one of the most frequently prescribed drugs during pregnancy reported to be prescribed up to one in every seven pregnancies.
(This was a study from Denmark studying pregnancies from 2001 through 2016)